Berkeley County Magazine

Small Town Feel, Metropolitan Appeal

Small town living is the latest national trend. More and more professionals, families and retirees are abandoning the “big city” way of life in favor of smaller towns. Why has Berkeley County experienced such an incredible influx of new residents and international industries? It’s simple…we offer quaint, quality and affordable lifestyles with many “big city” conveniences all within arms reach.

Newcomers indicate a number of amenities and benefits attracted them to Berkeley County, including:

Ability to purchase a larger, more spacious home for the same amount of money or less

Lower utility rates

Access to cutting-edge healthcare

Nationally recognized education

Less crime

Close proximity to malls, brand named stores and retail outlets

Plentiful area attractions and leisure activities

Culture and diversity

Population

The population within Berkeley County has increased substantially over the past 70 years. This growth has progressed more rapidly in recent decades, by rates of eleven percent (11%) between 1990 and 2000 and twenty-five percent (25%) between 2000 and 2010. The Daniel Island/Cainhoy/Wando area absorbed the majority of the County’s growth over the past decade with a 180 percent increase in population.

Berkeley County is expected to experience an increase of almost thirty percent (29.7%) in its population over the next 25 years.

Similar to the growth in population, the number of Berkeley County households grew by fifteen percent (15%) from 1990 to 2000 and by thirty-one percent (31.0%) from 2000 to 2010. We expect this growth to continue at an anticipated rate of thirty percent (30.4%) over the next 25 years.

Housing

Berkeley County’s available and affordable housing options make it an attractive location for people looking to relocate and to prospective employers seeking affordable housing options for their workforce. While “affordable housing” is often misinterpreted, a home is considered affordable when rent or mortgage expenses do not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the household’s combined annual income. In 2010, over seventy percent (71.5%) of Berkeley County owner occupied households spent less than thirty percent (30%) of their total income on housing costs, while over fifty percent (53.2%) of renter occupied households spent less than thirty percent (30%) of their income on housing costs.

Fortunately, the total number of housing units within Berkeley County has increased at a significantly higher rate than the population in the past couple of decades. From 1990 to 2000, housing units increased approximately twenty percent (19.7%), and another thirty-four percent (34.1%) from 2000 to 2010. This has resulted in a total increase of sixty percent (60.6%) in housing units which has more than accommodated the population increase of thirty-eight percent (38.1%) over the same period.